Are Our Politicians So Obsessed With Sex?

I find Uncle JB’s feature article of Saturday October 20, 2007 not quite amusing. (READ) It is important to know what substance our leaders (of tomorrow) are made of. I am quite sure many would still argue that we need not confuse or mix personal lives with public lives but I wonder if we can indeed separate the two. The Bible says “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Do Ghanaians care about these revelations even when it came from the horse’s own mouth? Or would Ghanaians take the money and forget about it? Would NPP delegates vote on principles or sell their votes IN December 2007? Would Ghanaians sell their conscience in 2008 and come back to complain to God after elections when the elections are over, how the nation had gone worst? A word to the wise is enough.

Unfortunately, this has been the lifestyle of many of the established politicians (or Establishment) in Africa. So they are not ashamed to say them. In fact, if one could get closer to them one would be surprised to hear that their conversations have nothing to do with the poverty of their people and the ailing economy.

Is loose talk part of the sport of the establishment? It appears they feel good to brag about these vanities. Hence, they cannot correct the moral decadence in our institutions. What leadership!

That could be their choice. Great! But the issue is how much time would be left for them to think over the nation and plan against unforeseen circumstances. I have said it over and over again and I will say it again: If you want a better leader follow their campaign trails and see how they answer unscripted questions. Do our politicians (aspirants) have a plan in place? O they care for the poor and the future of the youth?

May be they are waiting till they take the oath of office and ask for more time to think through issues. But if they cannot tell us now how they would transform our nation, but have time to defend their sexual prowess then they may not have enough time to think through the issues when they arise in their term of office. You cannot build a good house on a weak foundation.

In a Ghana Leadership forum, one contributor expressing his lamentations on the state of Ghana’s socio- political condition today quoted an incident that is worth our reflection: He said, Dr. Kennedy was on the Alhaji and Alhaji program on Monday morning (October 29, 2007) talking so well, with respect to the direction the country needs to go. Then a listener sent a text message telling him that he says all the right things but his campaign is low key. According to the contributor, “What the listener was really referring to was the fact that he is not spending money like the others”.

It is unfortunate that Ghanaians still don’t get it; that whom we choose as our president determines the direction our country will be heading towards for the next four or more years. Why should we choose our leaders on the basis of their expenditure? Why should we ignore the truth for a lie and expect progress? If Kennedy is making more sense than the others why do we have to ignore him, simply because he is not throwing away money? At least it should suggest to the wise and prudent that he is more likely to be circumspect, judicious and cautious in managing the finances of the country when elected.

Fellow countrymen, I dare say that if we are looking forward to a new Ghana, where we can find jobs for our youth then we should consider voting for NEW candidates. Doing the same thing over and over again and looking for change or results could not only be illusive but insane.

Unfortunately many among us still think experience is only linked to length of stay on the job but we forget that some folks never learn new things at all on the job. Though experience could be a good tool, it does not necessarily occur to those who are resistant to change. See the results in Africa; almost 90% of our politicians are recycled. Yet we don’t see growth. We always tend to play down on youthful exuberance and the fresh knowledge they bring. As a result we are never making progress; if any progress at all, it is very negligible. About 10% of the youth try to get in politics with intension and desires to serve their country and make a difference only to be frustrated by the ‘Old guys.” Let us not forget that the best way to learn is by INSTRUCTION and not by experience. . Unfortunately, Africa thinks the youth is not qualified to lead. So we always recycle our leaders. It would have been consoling if our elders were making any plans to renew their knowledge but they get so engulfed in trivia that they can hardly make any impact. When they get the least time they talk about sex rather than the economy?

New stuff comes all the time making the old ineffective or less productive. Therefore, experience must add to instruction. Tap the knowledge of the youth NOW! Apparently, there is very little the Old Guys could do. The pollution is too great to enable them to give their best. However, the good news is that if we could get a president from among the Youth we could hope for change in Ghana. As errand boys, the youth can do little to nothing, even as ministers; simply because the constitution gives so much power to the executive president.

This is where we stand to make a change. Are you going to vote for the same Establishment because they have been able to buy your conscience with money or given you favors or you are going to do the right thing by voting on principles? Ghana is for all of us not a select few (or them). Ghana’s future is invested in all of our hands. Your vote counts.

Come Election Day is your only power in every four or five years. It is too late for NDC to make any change. They have settled already for an establishment candidate. Now let’s see what the other parties can do for mother Ghana. To the delegates of NPP, I say it is not too late. Vote wisely in December 2007 in choosing your flagbearer.

I am pretty sure Ghana will do better under a young dynamic leader. Not simply because they are energetic but in truth they are abreast with the times. Only a few of our old politicians spend any resources renewing their minds or improving themselves intellectually. They are so obsessed with womanizing and empty glory that they can hardly take time to catch up with all the new stuff (technology) that is shaping our world.

Are you surprise why Ghana or any other African nation is not going automation in this computer age? The answer may be simple, our leadership is not comfortable with technology and they may feel too preoccupied to make time to learn. In fact, in many instances they feel uncomfortable to be taught as they are known to be the gurus in our nation. This is by no means to put the Establishment down, but to challenge them to be willing to make time to update themselves if they want to stay in leadership positions.

Please don’t get me wrong, I do not mean the entire Establishment is not keeping up with global changes. However, I dare say that the percentage is negligible. You can know them by their very actions and what they deem important in their speech. Do they even have time to read the news papers? Fellow Ghanaians, let us not think in the past, let us be politically matured and compel our politicians to stop taking us for granted (or for a ride). Let us also stop making money the object of our reasoning.

Long live Ghana. May God bless us all.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.